Time Is Worth Much More Than Money
By David G. Mitchell, July 3rd, 2010 | 6 Comments »
I am a bit surprised to find myself with a lot of work to do. I am surprised both because my business is young and because the week before the Fourth of July is usually quite quiet in my profession. That said, I have enough work to do in the next week that I have already begun cancelling some discretionary appointments. I like it when I am that busy.
Despite the work I have to do, today is Saturday and I am not doing any work for my clients today. I am confident that I will be able to accomplish all that I need to accomplish in the next seven days, even if I might have to stay up late a few nights to do it. Although I might be able to accomplish a lot today, especially since my wife and sons decided to go to a movie this afternoon, I am going to do my best to do other things. I will turn back to my job tomorrow night or Monday morning.
Some readers may think that I should make hay while the sun shines and that I should be doing my work today because I cannot know what tomorrow may bring. I do not fully disagree. Others may point out that time is money and that by remaining idle I am wasting an opportunity to earn. I do not fully disagree with that either.
That said, I would argue that time is worth much more than money. Indeed, at the end of our respective lives, I suspect that we will find out that we ran out of time before we ran out of money. So, today I am taking the day off. I will write a few columns, run some errands with my wife when she returns, make a nice dinner and then walk my dog. The next time you are looking for a reason to relax, especially if you own your own business, you might want to consider a few of these.
Recharge: You cannot work any muscle in your body non-stop. Your brain is like that too. If you do not take the time to recharge your mind by doing something that is not “your job” you cannot possibly function at your highest level when you are doing your job.
Creativity: Sometimes the best way to approach a problem is to walk away from it. If you take the time to do other things, your brain will have a chance to relax and to process all of the data that you have been feeding into it all week. Maybe then you will be able to see your way to solving problems instead of just reacting to them.
Confidence. If you do not approach each week with the confidence that you can accomplish all that you need to accomplish, you create your own hurdle to success. Believe that you can achieve what you need to achieve and allow yourself to enjoy the moment.
Relationships: Whatever you may do for a living, you should not let it define you as a person. Your relationships with family and friends are important, too, and if you attend only to work, you will quickly lose your relationships and, perhaps, your reasons for working.
Happiness: You have to allow yourself to be happy. Responsibility is important too, but all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. It’s OK to take a day off. You might even want to go out and splurge on an extravagance. Go on! You’ve earned it!
What do you like to do to recharge? What justifies a day off in your mind?
Even though I am now retired, I agree with you 100%. When I was teaching, there were always more papers to grade, or lessons to prepare, or meetings to schedule. I learned early on in my career that, if I let myself, I would always have something to do. Instead, I turned to my other, more lazy side. I always allowed myself the opportunity to relax, read a book, take my wife and kids somewhere, or engage in some task to enable me to face my necessary work with a fresh eye. That way, I found it much easier to pound away when I had to. I never regretted it, especially after watching some of my more workaholic colleagues struggle with retirement. I remember one fellow who, several years after retiring. went back to work as a substitute. When I asked him why, he replied “I’ve done all the things I wanted to do, and seen all the places I wanted to see. I don’t know what else to do.” I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to happen to me.
Sitting idle is not something I do easily or well; I’m one of those people who needs to be doing something all the time. That doesn’t mean it has to be work in the traditional sense; tasks that others see as work (housework, gardening, home renovation, budgeting, cooking) are all relaxing to me. “Working” on a craft of some sort may be tedious or distracting for someone else, but for me, it’s a way to stay happily “busy”, yet enjoy conversation or a television show with my family at the same time.
My husband has a similar mindset, so there’s never a dull or boring moment around our house. The work never seems to stop, but neither does the enjoyment.
You hit this one on the head!
I definitely fell in the workaholic category, when I was in corporate, until knee problems forced me to slow down and a couple of other things happened as a result. Even when I was a workaholic, walking away from something and letting it simmer in the back of my mind, while I worked on something else, generally resulted in a “well, duh!” solution when I returned.
Now that I’m out of corporate and back into art, leaving a piece for a while can definitely result in a solution to a problem or some other interesting thing. I’ll stare at a piece of stone or wood and handle it, then go off and cut the lawn. When I come back, it’s generally obvious who/what is in there and wants to come out! LOL
I’m never bored and now I have time for friends… though I still prefer to limit the number of those and, particularly, social obligations. I actually pity my extremely successful brother ’cause he actually admits that he can’t imagine what he would do if/when/should he retire. Kind of sad.
Hubby and I have learned to truly rest on Sundays. That means no running around and if not well enough for church, we rest then too. I have a lot of activities that I do to keep myself busy even though I’m on disability. I can’t ever put in an 8 hour day, but I can do this and that throughout the day and then try to do different thises and thats on the weekends. I feel recharged to at least be able to cope with some of my regular daily chores.
I’ve adopted a similar philosophy.
I have a 15 month old daughter and have made adjustments to my life because the time I can spend with her is invaluable to me.
My wife and I have always fit into the workaholic category as well. The little one has taught us to value any time away from work no matter how little. If that requires us to add a monthly bill to get our lawn cut instead of spending hours outside doing it myself then I’m ok with that. I’m sure this will change when she’s a little older.
I’m certain I’ll miss those hours I spent with her much more than the money spent on a lawncare service.
I sometimes work seven days a week to try and keep up with the goals that I have. I don’t, however think that is right. I think that everyone should take off one day a week and do whatever that their heart desires.
I like to ride my bike or go to the gym for a good workout. Maybe goo shopping and get something that I want. These kind of activities are stress relievers for me.